Ready - The return of mcjIsosurface plugin for PC-Win and DS 4.X

mCasual · March 2015

! Ready !

https://sites.google.com/site/mcasualsdazscripts/mcjisosurface

you want to download

mcjIsosurface3 Plugin For DS4.7 32Bit.zip (91k)

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxtY2FzdWFsc2RhenNjcmlwdHN8Z3g6MjEyZWJmZjE2NmI3YjljMA

and/or
mcjIsosurface3 Plugin For DS4.7 64Bit.zip

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxtY2FzdWFsc2RhenNjcmlwdHN8Z3g6MjUyMDkxNGNiNjc3ZmM4

and unzip that in the appropriate folder

for the 64-Bit version

C:\Program Files\DAZ 3D\DAZStudio4\plugins
or
C:\Program Files\DAZ 3D\DAZStudio4 Public Build\plugins

or for the 32-Bit version

C:\Program Files (x86)\DAZ 3D\DAZStudio4\plugins
or
C:\Program Files (x86)\DAZ 3D\DAZStudio4 Public Build\plugins

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what you see here is a meta-cube and a metaBall merging together

it's the mcjIsosurface3 plugin which still exists and works with Daz Studio 3

But today, following prodding

i ported it to Daz Studio 4.7 32-bit

tomorrow i'll see about the 64 bit version

it does render well in OpenGL and 3Delight but i doubt it will render in

DS4.8's IRay, unless it uses the same geometry the 3Delight renderer gets

note the DS4.7+ version is not posted yet ( tomorrow?)

but you can see the manual here
https://sites.google.com/site/mcasualsdazscripts/mcjisosurface

the olden days (2011) launch video here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkTimQdypPQ

oh i almost forgot that ... isosurfaces can be saved as OBJ files, which means ... you can reload them and render them with IRay for sure

mCasual · March 2015

aint this neat, liquid chrome with real reflectivity in 3Delight

Eustace Scrubb · March 2015

Thank you thank you thank you!

hphoenix · March 2015

Hooray! I hope the 64-bit port goes just as smoothly, and I'm looking forward a LOT to the download links!

Been missing this since I updated to 4.7........a LOT!

Again,

ThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyou!!!!!!!!

Eustace Scrubb · March 2015

Do you think we could get an iso-suit shape for people to wear or be trapped in? ;)

mCasual · March 2015

hphoenix said:
Hooray! I hope the 64-bit port goes just as smoothly, and I'm looking forward a LOT to the download links!
Been missing this since I updated to 4.7........a LOT!

Again,

ThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyou!!!!!!!!

earlier today i was able to get the DS4.X SDK 64-bit version to compile

and now the first test of the 64 bit version will be .... DS4.7

i load (who else?) Amy interesting, i can load a DS4.8 scene in DS4.7

is the isosurface 64-bit plugin seen by Ds4.7? ......

fig 1 - yes !

next i make the isosurface domain larger than Amy

fig2 - that didnt crash but it seems this simple operation is quite demanding on Daz/ the CPU
i dont remember precisely but i think my plugin pre-computes a lot of tables

and i'll add a few metaobjects using the metaconsole script

Fig 3 - Bubble-pop seems to all work and no crashes - The meta objects were very dark looking in the 3dViewport, but i think that problem existed in the DS3 version and happens when the isosurface domain ( cube ) is re-scaled , like i did in this case, but the 3Delight renders look fine

good news, the companion script mcjMetaDump will work as-is ! - it lets one export the metaobjects as .obj files

now lets go in DS4.8 public build beta 64bit and see what happens

Fig 4 - Now in DS4.8 we can see that the .obj created using DS4.7 is valid , and since it's just a normal.obj, it renders fine usin IRAY

interesting point : i added some pink ambient color/strength to the surface and it increased the brightness of the figure inside the blobby

--

one last test before i post the plugins ( dlls )

the plugin in DS4.8

....

i copy mcjIsosurface3.dll in C:\Program Files\DAZ 3D\DAZStudio4 Public Build\plugins

( i needed administrative privileges to do that, i wonder if there's a public plugins folder somewhere )

and i start DAZ Studio 4.8 Beta Public Build ...

Fig 5 - good news, DS4.8 accepts it !

mCasual · March 2015

for the DS4.8 tests i wont resize the Domain/Cube because there's OpenGL normals issues that are not fixed

( but will be, later this spring or summer )

Creating the isosurface node in DS4.8 worked fine !

now we add a Metaball ...

works ! no crash

lets add 2 more

works well, even i'd say it runs more smoothly than in DS4.7

-----

next we test IRay renders ( but we keep our hopes low )

.... yep, nothing .... iray doesnt see it

actually, if it's like OpenGL and 3Delight, Daz Studio walks up to the metaballs and says "hey you mister isosurface or whatever, tell IRay what you look like" and the metaballs answer "i dont speak Irayian"

----

but at least i can render it in Hardware, and 3Delight mode

and using the mcjMetaDump script i can convert it into an .obj

for Animated IRay metaballs one would have to use that .obj-sequence-to-morphing-poser-prop script i wrote but forgot the name of :)

Oh my Gawd wait till you see Figure 2 !!!

That's the metaballs object, created in DS4.8, using the mcjIsodurface3 plugin, plus the mcjMetaConsole script , then exported as an obj using mcjMetaDump script, then i applied the IRay Jade shader preset, and IRay rendered this .obj !

---

Figure2 - one problem with the mcjIsosurfaces is that it tends to use narrow triangle polygons which works against a smooth surface look, and subD doesnt help that much

-- posting the 32 and 64 bit DLLs in the next minutes !

mCasual · March 2015

! Ready !

https://sites.google.com/site/mcasualsdazscripts/mcjisosurface

you want to download

mcjIsosurface3 Plugin For DS4.7 32Bit.zip (91k)

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxtY2FzdWFsc2RhenNjcmlwdHN8Z3g6MjEyZWJmZjE2NmI3YjljMA

and/or
mcjIsosurface3 Plugin For DS4.7 64Bit.zip

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxtY2FzdWFsc2RhenNjcmlwdHN8Z3g6MjUyMDkxNGNiNjc3ZmM4

and unzip that in the appropriate folder

for the 64-Bit version

C:\Program Files\DAZ 3D\DAZStudio4\plugins
or
C:\Program Files\DAZ 3D\DAZStudio4 Public Build\plugins

or for the 32-Bit version

C:\Program Files (x86)\DAZ 3D\DAZStudio4\plugins
or
C:\Program Files (x86)\DAZ 3D\DAZStudio4 Public Build\plugins

mCasual · July 2015

Great metaballs of fire !

it's all said in the picture

Isosurface 4 will be fully compatible with IRay, Reality, BlenderCycles ... you name it

the only issue at hand,is that when the isosurface is active,

there's something ( maybe useless redraw ) that slow down the PC a bit

but i'll solve that issue

since i already have the code to export the metaballs, i already have all i need to make it display metaballs instead of a disk

hphoenix · July 2015

Yow! That was quick! I've been hoping for Iray Isosurfaces..... You rock, mCasual!

Can't wait for IsoSurface 4!

mtl1 · July 2015

Is there a way to alter the script such that it subtracts the surfaces instead of merging them? Or is there already another script to do that? :)

scatha · July 2015

You mean a boolean operation...

hphoenix · August 2015

mtl1 said:

Is there a way to alter the script such that it subtracts the surfaces instead of merging them? Or is there already another script to do that? :)

I think he's referring to being able to give an isosurface element a negative strength, so it subtracts from the field strength in its vicinity, rather than adding to it.

mCasual · August 2015

got the UV maps working

and the abnormal high CPU usage seems to be gone

the UV mapping for the isosurface will be spherical i think

and interesting fact is that i could make the UVMapping dynamically changing ... but for now it will be spherical

mCasual · August 2015

i vaguely remember experimenting with that, but in the end i made it additive-only

https://sites.google.com/site/mcasualsdazscripts/mcjisosurface

mtl1 said:

Is there a way to alter the script such that it subtracts the surfaces instead of merging them? Or is there already another script to do that? :)

mCasual · August 2015

about to do a big test ! displaying the IRay-renderable isosurface

... and it .... very elegantly crashes Daz Studio 4.8 - it went *poof* disappeared

probably because i attempted to create a mesh containing 0 vertices

test 2, after changing the code to leave "it" alone when the isosurface has 0 vertices ... no crash !!

now we'll add a ball ...

... i forgot how to do that actually ...

... oh ! the metaConsole, of course the metaconsole!

results are in

good news, SceneInfo remports that "it" now has 3125 triangles instead on 1 quad

bad news is, i cant see it on-screen ...

test 3 will be the One !

One nice thing is that i can export "it" and see what's going on

what's going on for now is that all 9000 vertices are at the same position of -0.383008 3.125 -5.3125

i found the bug ! a missing code line that reads

        ++t;

mCasual · August 2015

the iray Shader Car Paint with metal flakes

the iray shader "Gold metal" a metaball plus a metatorus

It's alive it's alive !

which doesnt mean it's releasable yet

i want to see if i can impose the normals i want ...

probably not, so at low-resolution you'll probably get a partially faceted look like this

expect a release this weekend

but ya know ... things can happen so

mCasual · August 2015

a hardware pixel-shading render mixed with another hardware render

so far i dont seem to be able to increase the isosurface resolution

mCasual · August 2015

the plugin is causing too many useless redraws, but at least it seems to do comply with resolution parameter changes

also shown here 2 U-shaped molds ... because , yes, this weekend too, i'll post the 1001 molding props

mCasual · August 2015

come to think of it ...

the thing i must change ...

is to decouple this from the redraw !!!

--

the redraw only needs redraw the domain box

--

oops crash :)

uhhh mmmaybe i created an infinite loop?

... found it !

when a scene is being loaded, nodes can exist and not have a shape or geometry

and attempting to modify something that doesnt exist can be tricky

ok issue fixed

mCasual · August 2015

tomorrow tomorrow it should be ready

i have among things to synchronize the movements of the "it" node with the mcjIsoSurface node ( or simply ignore the position of the mcjIsoSurface )

i vaguely remember that getting nice UV maps like this on metaballs took some effort back then

the reward is that textures and Displacement maps work well

( except for the MetaCube it seems )

mCasual · August 2015

in Blender

i still dont know it i'll be able to get rid of the wrinkles

http://www.daz3d.com/forums/uploads/FileUpload/26/70c12ecbfb79baa51b8687791d2dc7.jpg

mCasual · August 2015

to improve surface smoothness, reduce geometry weight and improve speed, i'm

very tempted to use the method here called "Naive surface nets" and the author is OK with anyone re-using the idea

http://0fps.net/2012/07/12/smooth-voxel-terrain-part-2/

and as a bonus, maybe just maybe there will be a Minecraft type of polygonization option for our isosurfaces

nah i'll leave this for another day ... i have too many ongoing projects that need attention !

so, just make it work

i did look at the normals issue and i see functions to read normals but none to re/set them so ...

Eustace Scrubb · August 2015

hphoenix said:

mtl1 said:

Is there a way to alter the script such that it subtracts the surfaces instead of merging them? Or is there already another script to do that? :)

I think he's referring to being able to give an isosurface element a negative strength, so it subtracts from the field strength in its vicinity, rather than adding to it.

Actually, there is already: set the scale to a negative value. The Metaball disappears and a dent appears in the neighboring surface.

EDIT: may only be MetaBalls that do this. The MetaCube doesn't seem keen to, and the dial in question may be the base Scale dial after all...

But I know I've done it!

EDIT: MetaBalls at negative scale DO work on the surfaces of other MetaBalls, but NOT on MetaCubes. Neither MetaCubes nor MetaTori work with negative scales: they become little metaballs of indifferently spheroid shape. Ditto MetaPlane and MetaNuBall. The inverted MetaBall will, however, indent both of the latter and the MetaDisk.

mCasual · August 2015

Eustace Scrubb said:

hphoenix said:

mtl1 said:

.... MetaCubes. ....

judging by one of my renders above the metacubes have a bug, their normals and texture coordinates seem wrong

nice to see some of the shapes work with negative scales !

in the distant future i'll repail this and make the spheres stretchable along an axis

i remember seeing someone build a realistic human figure using something like that ( in the 1980's !! )

Eustace Scrubb · August 2015

Here's a render to show what I mean.

mCasual · August 2015

so it's a yes on negatively scaled metaballs and some but not all other metashapes can also produce dents by negatively scaling them

the holes in this case are due to the isosurface exceeding the limits of the "domain"

http://www.daz3d.com/forums/uploads/FileUpload/0f/1e92470c2a20f23a79f85d41340a3d.png

mCasual · August 2015

metaball plus metastick

currently working on the transforms issue, since the isoSurface node doesnt "carry" the geometry anymore

in fact i could move the isosurface node to a Tool/Panel

http://www.daz3d.com/forums/uploads/FileUpload/f5/ee50a7de9679710b25b62df0e45cd8.png

mCasual · August 2015

i'll release it beta right now - because i want to release the ongoing project this weekend which was the 1001 molding props ... before midnight, and it's almost 9 pm !

i didnt really make scaling work in a sane and evident manner for the isosurface

but if you dont move the shape or scale it while building your model, it's not confusing, and it renders ok even in animations

as you can see ( is the render done, yes! )

below in a minute or 3

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